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Ray Barone
Raymond Albert "Ray" Barone is the title character of Everybody Loves Raymond, the husband of Debra, the brother of Robert, the father of Ally, Michael, and Geoffrey, and the obedient son of Frank and Marie. Ray Romano plays the part of Ray. Ray lives in Lynbrook, Long Island, New York, with his exasperated wife, Debra, and children, Ally, Michael, and Geoffrey. Ray is a sports columnist for the local newspaper Newsday. Particularly in the first season, he is seen interviewing a famous sportsperson, (although this subsides in subsequent seasons), and he often uses his profession as sportswriter as an excuse to watch sports in the living room rather than assist Debra with chores, which leads her to accuse Ray of being a lazy husband. Although he and Debra cope with the everyday struggles of raising their children, as mentioned by Ray in the title sequence of the first season, "it is not really about the kids." Ray and Debra's major problem comes in the form of the rest of the Barone family, who live across the street: his horrible parents Frank and Marie, and his miserable brother Robert. As well as acting somewhat infantile in the show, (complaining with a nasally, whiny voice for comic effect), Ray also has a weak, timid, and even neurotic personality, and is reluctant to assume any responsibility, and lives in abject fear of his mother, Marie. These traits are explained in the tellings of certain parts of Ray's childhood, which revealed that Marie spoiled him and was overbearing and overnurturing, to the point of obtaining the job of school lunchlady to ensure Ray ate his greens, while Frank showed no love or affection for either boy and cut them both out of picture, which Ray has ironically replicated with his own reluctance to participate with his own children, which is why his kids probably secretly hate him. Ray's success in his work and family life, as well as his status as a "mama's boy," have generated envious feelings with his brother, Robert, who often quotes sayings such as: "It never ends for Raymond," and "Everybody loves Raymond." He also fears being disliked, as seen in the episode "Somebody Hates Raymond", when he discovers radio station manager Jerry Musso hates him, and is subsequently perplexed by it. Childhood and Background Raymond was born in Long Island in 1961. Many of his emotional problems stem from his childhood. His mother was overprotective, which turned him into a "mama's boy", and he received no affection from his father whatsoever. When Ray was a child, he shoved cocoa-puffs up his nose, and had to be taken to the hospital to have them removed, (by crushing them in his nostrils and blowing out the crumbs). Growing up, he didn't have many girlfriends, and was never very successful when it came to women. He met Debra when he delivered a futon to her apartment while he was working for Claude's Futons with his buddy Gianni. At this time, he still lived with his parents. In the episode "Boys' Therapy", Ray discovers that he descended from a long line of physically abusive disciplinarians. But Frank was the exception. He was never physically abusive toward Ray and Robert. Ray has Italian heritage which is often referenced throughout the show. Education Raymond dropped out of high school after failing freshman English four times, and pursued a job in delivering Futons. He was however able to get a job as a sports writer by sleeping with the editor of the newspaper, who was a man. Character Development The character of Ray is virtually the same from the first episode to the last. Although in the early seasons, he was portrayed in a much more favorable light. In the later seasons, the show's writers seemed to exaggerate his flaws for the sake of comedy. Relationship to other major characters * Husband to Debra * Brother to Robert * Son to Frank and Marie * Father to Ally, Michael and Geoffrey * Brother-in-law to Amy * Cousin to Gerard * Friends with Bernie Episode Appearances Ray Barone appeared in all 210 episodes. (See the complete list of episodes) Memorable Quotes *DEBRA: You know what I think? *RAY: If I say "Yes," do you still have to tell me? *RAY (To Robert): Yeah, you're opening up whole new worlds to them—like the world of feet that smell so bad, your nose had to grow as far away from them as possible! *MARIE (Kisses Robert on forehead): I love you. *ROBERT: Thanks, Ma. I love you, too. *RAY: Now turn over. She'll powder your ass. *DEBRA: You know, it is comforting every once in a while for a wife to hear that...her husband wants to spank a supermodel. *RAY: I don't want to. Sometimes they're naughty! *RAY: ''(To Marie): ''IT'S IN THE DUMP, MA! IT'S IN THE DUMP! *MARIE: You are some brother! *RAY: Hi Ma. *MARIE: Dooon't Ma me! I finally got it out from Robert. He's been sitting over there for two days, depress, moping not talking to anyone. And you know why? *RAY: Because he's Robert? ---- Category:Characters Category:Templates Category:Articles about Ray Category:Main characters Category:Season 1 characters Category:Season 2 characters